Jamal Adams Is Out of His Element

Jamal Adams is aggravated because first-year general manager Joe Douglas shopped him around in advance of this week's trading deadline.

At the end of the week last week, I sat down with the GM and Coach Gase and told them I want to be here in New York. I was told yesterday by my agent that the GM then went behind my back and shopped me around to teams, even after I asked him to keep me here! Crazy business.
— Jamal Adams (@TheAdamsEra) October 29, 2019

This is, of course, Douglas' job. He's tasked with assembling the best possible team and one way to achieve that end is exploring opportunities with other franchises to make deals. Otherwise he'd be very bored in between drafts.

The New York Jets safety aired out his grievances against Douglas on Twitter yesterday but is still hot today. Here he is explaining why and comparing himself to some pretty lofty names along the way.

"The Rams don't take calls on Aaron Donald...the Patriots don't take calls on Tom Brady. That's where I hold myself, in that regard" – @TheAdamsEra on the trade rumors pic.twitter.com/b1jHonkelC
— Jets Videos (@snyjets) October 30, 2019

Aaron Donald. Tom Brady. Jamal Adams. One of those doesn't fit.

Look, the NFL is a cruel business. Players are a commodity to be maximized and then discarded. Anyone paying attention has made their peace with that fact long ago. It's hard not to take personally if you're in Adams' position, but it's a necessity.

It's also hard to imagine the New England Patriots haven't fielded any inquiries on Touchdown Tom throughout the years. Impossible even! Or that the Los Angeles Rams haven't picked up a phone while a person on the other line inquired about swinging a deal for Donald.

There's a pretty big gulf between listening and considering. And another big one between considering and doing.

If this is the way NFL players are going to react when connected to trade deadline rumors, I'm not so sure the league is ready for an NBA-style jamboree. Quite possibly a reason why we can't have fun, interesting things.